Shane McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)

I listened to the Minister on the radio last week. He said, rightly, that we have not had road conditions such as we have had in the past few weeks for a number of years. Many new drivers are not experienced in these conditions. I doubt there is a Deputy in this House who has not had many complaints in respect of our smaller roads, particularly those roads that were not maintained over the past number of years. We know our major roads are safer.

Is the Minister happy that the allocation he gave in 2008 is being used? There is a difference. If I contact local authorities in different areas some will claim, behind the scenes, that they are not funded properly. The Minister states that his Department funds them properly. Can the Minister clarify that all the county councils got the same money this year as they received last year?

We are coming near to the end of the year, and, please God, the Department can be proud of one thing, namely, that deaths are down. The Minister knows he has the backing of everybody in the House for every measure he takes in that regard. However, I am deeply concerned about the condition of our roads at present. I am concerned that funding is not being used specifically to grit roads if they continue to be in the same condition.

There is a serious problem throughout the country with regard roads that are newly tarmacadamed. They then have six-inch deep curves on their edges. I am aware of one road where there were four accidents last week due to non-maintenance of road edges.

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